Culberts Keeping Cool

Ken Culbert and his future wife, Helen Needham keeping cool at the beach, c1939.

Many of us are lucky to have homes with air conditioning or at least a good electric fan. Such wasn't the case for our ancestors in Lucan-Biddulph. So how did the Culberts keep their cool?

The Little Ausable River was the closest body of water to the Culbert homestead...

The Little Ausable River. Postcard courtesy of Wendy (Gowland) Boole from the collection of Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen.

The Little Ausable River ran through Biddulph Township, including Lucan, and drained into the larger Ausable River. Growing up, I recall that everyone called it the Ausable rather than the Little Ausable. I suppose on a hot day, it took too much energy to say the full name.

The Culbert property was on the Coursey Line, just south of McGillivray Drive. The Little Ausable River was within walking distance.

 In his memoirs, George Arthur Culbert (born 1882) says:

"There was a swimming hole in the [Little] Ausable River just fifteen minute's walk from our house and we often went there twice a day to have a swim."

Postcard courtesy of Wendy (Gowland) Boole from the collection of Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen.

Arthur goes on to say:

"We also had a pond on our farm which must have been fed by springs. We often went there for a swim but the bottom was mud and sometimes we would have a go at throwing mud."

The nearest beach to the Culbert homestead was Grand Bend; a distance of more than 24.8 miles or 40 kilometres.

Postcard of Grand Bend courtesy of Wendy (Gowland) Boole from the collection of Hulda May (Culbert) Carscallen.

I'm not sure how cool they really were in these types of swimming costumes but this was an age when modesty was a virtue.

Below, we see Myron Culbert's future wife, Effie Taylor (right) enjoying a day out in Grand Bend. Regardless of the weather, women of the Edwardian era were required to cover up, head to toe, and you can bet there were stockings and a corset underneath it all...

Effie Pearl Taylor (right) with her friend, Rose Perkins in Grand Bend, Ontario. No date on back of photo but it was probably taken before 1911.

Verandahs were an architectural feature that kept the home's walls and windows shaded during the day, and were pleasant to sit under on a summer's day...

The verandah at Poplar Farm.

Today, everyone rushes indoors to escape the heat. But before air conditioning, people went outdoors to cool down. Outdoor siestas were a popular way to beat the heat...

This hot spring day in 1940 finds two of the Culbert boys enjoying an al fresco siesta at Poplar Farm with their future wives. Sleeping (left to right): Mel Culbert & Mary Patrick, and Helen Needham & Ken Culbert, all under the watchful eye of Cliff Culbert's future wife, Gladys Beattie. Photo by Cliff Culbert.

Nothing beats sitting under a shady tree on a hot, summer day except a picnic under a row of shady trees...

Picnic under the trees in the driveway of Poplar Farm. 1951.

By the 1960s, home air conditioning units were growing in popularity but I don't recall anyone who had an air conditioner until the 1970s. Like the other kids in town, I enjoyed swimming to cool down.

One particular swimming hole of note stands out in my mind: the Kirkton Pond, northeast of Lucan. The only drawback were the leeches or "bloodsuckers" as we called them.

I asked my 4th cousin, Ron Marshall (formerly of Kirkton) if he remembered the leeches. He replied:

"Sometimes kids would come out of the water with four or five on their legs. And you couldn't just pull them off. Had to use a lit cigarette to get them to let go!"

That was my recollection too; standing still in horror as an adult held a lit cigarette to the leeches that had latched onto my body. This caused the leech to quickly detach but it's not recommended. It can cause the leech to regurgitate its stomach contents into the wound, with a risk of infection.

There weren't any warning signs like this at the Kirkton Pond. Photo by Mary Jane Culbert.

Enough talk of leeches. Moving right along! 

Let's take a look at the descendants of John Culbert & Mary Ward, keeping cool, yesterday and today:

Phil Culbert shows us how it's done. Port Stanley, Ontario c1958.

Brothers, Phil Culbert (left) and Ian Culbert (right) at Port Stanley, Ontario c1953.

Ivan Culbert and his children at the beach near their cottage in Lakeside, Ontario, c1958. Back row: Ivan holding Christine. Front row, left to right: Ian, Phil and Vicky.

Ivan Culbert fills up the wading pool for his son, Phil in the back yard of their Lucan, Ontario home, 1952.

Allison Culbert, board surfing at Sylvan Lake, Alberta, 2016. Photo by Phil Culbert.

Mary Jane Culbert (me) at Ipperwash Beach, eating ice cream in my big brother Terry's sports car with a friend, 1960. Photo by Terry Culbert.

Life is good, albeit messy. I'm surprised Terry let us eat ice cream in his car but my brother always knew a photo opportunity when he saw one.

Ian Culbert, The Sun King at home in London, Ontario.

Go jump in the lake! Mary-Lynn Culbert and her husband, Paul Ciglen at the lake near Huntsville, Ontario. They live in Florida so they know a thing or two about keeping cool.

Mary-Lynn Culbert keeps cool with a pretty parasol and blocks the harmful UV rays at the same time.

Robn (Gras) Diekow sailing in the marina in Finike, Turkey in 2016. Robn's sailed all over the world but that's another story for another time. And yes, it's Robn with no i.

Don Jarrell, prawn fishing in British Columbia. Looks a little chilly at that time of day but the weather changes quickly on the water. Don's the grandson of Oran Westell, the Kincardine Lighthouse keeper so it's not surprising he's always by the water.

Don Jarrell in British Columbia cracking open a cold Canterbury lager, at sea.

A toast to Culberts keeping cool!

Hot Enough For Ya?

With temperatures in parts of Canada soaring as high as 47°Celsius (116°Fahrenheit) this week, I want to know how you keep cool.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 1983. Me, "back in the day!"

Email photos of yourself, past or present, keeping cool by the pool, at the lake, eating ice cream ... anything that shows you coping with the heat. Or send a photo of some of your ancestors keeping cool.

Deadline for photo submissions: Saturday, July 7th.

This coming Sunday, I'll publish a post with your photos.

Lieutenant John Russell Westell: Spy

Let's meet another member of the Kincardine Lighthouse family: Lieutenant John Russell Westell.

Note: All photos are courtesy of Ian Westell unless otherwise credited.

John, also known as "Jack" was born 27 May 1920 in Kincardine, Ontario, Canada. When he was six years old, his father, Oran Westell became the Kincardine Lighthouse keeper. The family moved into the lighthouse on the banks of the Penetangore River.

The Kincardine Lighthouse in the 1940s.

Of his childhood in the lighthouse, John said, "We realized we were the luckiest kids in town." He recalled finding a trap door in the basement of the lighthouse, and much to his surprise it was full of whiskey bottles!

When he was about 12 years old, John was an assistant typesetter in the office of the Kincardine News newspaper.

Young John worked as a projectionist at the local cinema but his dream was to go to sea.

In 1940 at the age of 20, he signed up for duty, serving aboard the HMCS Dauphin as a Radio Operator during the Second World War.

The HMCS Dauphin was a corvette employed to escort convoys across the Atlantic Ocean. The Dauphin was used to provide protection from German U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic: the longest continuous military campaign in World War II.

The HMCS Dauphin. Credit National Defence. - Canadian Navy Heritage website.

When asked what conditions were like aboard a corvette in winter, John replied, “bloody awful.”

Jamie Westell gives us an idea of what life was like at sea for his father.

“The wireless cabin was behind the bridge, so the Spark [radio operator] was intimate with the captain. Dad could put his feet on the transmitter; doing Morse code while vomiting in a bucket. He was sick every day at sea.

Bread was sliced with a saw. Going to the galley from the mess was an ordeal since the ship was really a bobbing cork; one sailor was chosen to get the food from galley to the mess. He was responsible for food loss while tramping OUTSIDE to and fro the mess.

The captain of Dad's corvette was a RCMP marine captain in civil life. Dad remembered him one day, on the bridge, in his RCMP horse boots, looking at his crew, but no uniform of any kind. He commented that he knew most of the crew for their smuggling reputations. Dad stood close to these Newfies but shortly realized not one could swim. They were on his depth charge team when one barrel detonated prematurely, all suffered hearing loss.”

John was later sent to Naval Service Headquarters in Ottawa to work in the radio station. Radio communications were essential during the war to pick up signals from German U-boats, and to send and receive coded messages.

There, he met his first wife, Jeanne Anne Hayden. Anne worked in the signal distribution office, sending orders and intelligence via modified coded teletype machines.

Teletype operators during WWII. Photo via Wikipedia.

The men in John’s office could “chat” with the female operators via the teletype machines. John said, “We used to talk to the girls on the midnight watch when things weren’t too active.”

John and Anne's first date was skiing in the Gatineau Hills, across the river from Ottawa. 

Anne Hayden, skiing at Camp Fortune.

John Westell and Anne Hayden married in Port Hope, Ontario on 18 April 1946.

After the war, John trained as a barber.

 

John is standing directly behind the hair model.

John’s career as a barber was cut short when he heard the Cold War Navy wanted men with his skills. 

He reenlisted and worked as a spy for the Canadian government. He served with Communications Research, the branch of the military spying on other military forces.

At HMCS Coverdale across the river from Moncton, New Brunswick, John trained personnel to become “listeners.” Their duty was to listen for radio transmissions from the enemy.

John spied on all the Soviets, especially submarines going under the North Pole; some entering Hudson’s Bay under grain vessels coming to port. 

John, Anne, and their two sons, Ian and Jamie moved around a lot because of John's job. Postings included New Brunswick, Ottawa, and Churchill, Manitoba; known as The Polar Bear Capital of the World and The Beluga Whale Capital of the World.

Churchill, Manitoba. Image via MapQuest.

Another posting was the Canadian Arctic community of Aklavik, Northwest Territories. 

During his childhood in Aklavik, John's son, Jamie recalls having a wolf's head as a teddy bear. John's son, Ian remembers watching a unique event in Aklavik, in 1957. Ian said his father knew exactly what time to gather the family to get a view of the world's first orbital spacecraft: Sputnik.

John's sons, Jamie & Ian Westell in Aklavik, 1956.

While in Aklavik, Anne worked for CP Air.

Anne Westell at CP Air office in Aklavik, NWT, c1956.

In Ottawa, Anne worked for the Honourable Flora MacDonald, a Member of Parliament best known for her humanitarian work and her role in the Canadian Caper.

The Westell family on Parliament Hill, Ottawa.

Anne died in 1973, age 46, and is buried in Kincardine Cemetery. Her son, Ian recalls his mother as a kind, warm person. She was devoted to her family and had a good sense of humour; something that helped when the family was posted in far off locations with Arctic winds and freezing temperatures.

Anne (Hayden) Westell, 1945.

In 1976, John remarried to Ada Virginia "Jenny" Bryant and they retired to Kincardine within hearing distance of the sounds of Lake Huron.

John died 17 July 2013, age 93 at the Perley and Rideau Veteran’s Health Centre in Ottawa. He is buried in Kincardine Cemetery.

John never talked about his Top Secret work. He managed to remain an international man of mystery until his retirement. It took his son, Jamie years to figure out what his father had been doing all that time, to which John replied, “What took you so long?”

To see more photos and a video interview with John Westell, visit johnrwestell.com, a site created by his son, Jamie Westell.

John Russell Westell's family tree:  

Ancestors:   
John Culbert & Mary Ward (2xgreat-grandparents)

Elizabeth "Eliza" Culbert & Richard Dagg (great-grandparents)
Susan Dagg & Omar Westell (grandparents)
Oran Westell & Jane Russell (parents)

Happy Canada Day!

Festivities take place from coast to coast to coast but the biggest celebration is in Ottawa on Parliament Hill.

John Russell Westell and his family on Parliament Hill. Photo courtesy of Ian Westell.

Come back on Monday to read about Lieutenant John Russell Westell, the 2xgreat-grandson of John Culbert and Mary Ward.

In the meantime, happy Canada Day, Culbert descendants!